"Hot Rod Lowriders" would seem to be some sort of oxymoron, but that's exactly what Brian Mikami builds. Forsaking the latin baroque aesthetic of traditional low-style creations, Brian's machines are honed-down performance machines, the bike equivalents to damascene bayonets. They're mighty sharp!
"This is my first show bike. It was featured in Lowrider Bicycle magazine years ago. It's a '64 frame, but the sprocket and neck/handle bar were dated '65. I'm sure it was sold in 1965 as a new model. Automotive kandy lime green with gold pearl clearcoat. 36-spoke S-2's front and rear! Yes front. It has a rare 'skinny' Schwinn SpitFire tire with Shimano chromed disc brake and SS brake line. Bent fork with Schwinn components. Harley fender light reshaped to fit theWald fender. Chrome Phantom tank with painted detail and Schwinn decals. Harley side-cup lights and mirrors. Schwinn mini speedo, chubby grips, lever cover and streamers. Japan box spring seat with modified
crash rail. I upholstered the flame design in leather and a few studs. Old Hawaii bike plate. Chromed chain guard with silk- screened Schwinn and hand-lettered LOWBOY. Pixie crank and NOS Krate pedals. Schwinn slik with Bendix red band coaster and shortie rear fender. This is a 'static' show bike...not a rider. My riders are a near-perfect '71 Orange Krate, '67 Typhoon (24") and a '68 fenderless Campus Green Sting Ray with 24" goose neck, Solo Polo and wheelie bar..
This is a '67 Schwinn Fleet. I got this frame from the late Scott Brown. Those who have been in the Sting Ray hobby probably knew him as one of the nicest and koolest guy to do any business with. Sting Ray 20" springer, half moon 50's handle bar with Schwinn checkerboard mirrors and kool lemon grips with streamers. Painted Schwinn headlamp and speedo. S-7 with Westwind front and S-2 Typhoon balloon rear with Bendix red line. Kool nerf bar with Phantom reflector. I painted the frame Kool Lemon and white. Pete silk-screened the 'S' logo on the vinyl and I upholstered the Japan box spring seat in the old Schwinn style with Sting Ray seat tag. Old Hawaii plate. NOS block pedals. The kool thing about this bike is that everything on this bike was available in '67. This exact bike could have been built back then. Except the Kool Lemon color and grips...that would come out very shortly after. This bike has the nice lines of an old classic motorcycle.
I bought this as an NOS red frame. The date coding is strange like the Lil Tigers. Unless you have the original crank, the date is unknown. The top convertable bar was chromed. Bent fork with Schwinn components. Chromed Krate front drum brake with S-7 and WW Superior. Rear S-7 with WW Gripper slik and Bendix. Schwinn Speedo and head light with repop handlebars, slimline grips, lever cover and streamers. Pete made a kustom blue and silver Krate style cover and I upholstered it on a NOS Midget pan. Schwinn fenders and chromed Krate shocks. Old Hawaii plate. Chromed NOS non-reflector pedals. This bike along with my other bikes was built years ago during the Lowrider craze. This was built for my oldest son. This bike was considered a 'Street Custom'.
This table-top Schwinn Lil Tiger has a few unique features. I used the
Taiwan rims and WW tires for a more show look. I made a rider version for my youngest son (in Lime Green) with the same tire/rim set up and yes- coaster brake. Unlike the original hard rubber tires and no brakes, this was a very kool bike to learn on. On this show bike, I used SS spokes and have a very unusual 20-spoke
Bendix Redline coaster brake on the rear. Looks killer and worked perfect with the import rim. The rare non-braced training wheel brackets were chromed and red lettered. NOS seat and fenders. I painted it in Coppertone and did a 'Deluxe' version chainguard. Chainguard lettering and image was done in die cut and clearcoated. Schwinn grips,
streamers, bell and double headlight bracket. I chromed two Hubba-Hubba rocket lights for a retro look.
Chromed NOS non-reflector pedals.
I built this bike for my wife to ride...it rides so much nicer than any
Sting Ray I have owned. It was an original paint Sky Blue in very nice
condition. I touched up the few rough spots with an air brush and shot HOK blue metalflake and clearcoat. Looks awesome...like the grips. S-7 front with WW Schwinn Uni-cycle tire. S-2 rear with WW Japan cheater slik. I upholstered the seat in white leather. Since my wife is not tall, I used a repop 'shortie' handlebar and sissy bar. My kustom touch was the chainguard lettering. I don't know why Schwinn did not letter the Slik Chik like it's brother the Sting Ray. Well, I did...Kool is all I can say."
